Jimmy Carter Condemns Bush, Israel, and the Religious Right Nutballs

[Mir]

Jimmy Carter is, in my opinion, the lost soul of our country. A humane and entirely decent man, he gives his opinions on some of the madness that is existing in the world today in an interview with Der Spiegel.

<snip>

"The fundamentalists believe they have a unique relationship with God, and that they and their ideas are God's ideas and God's premises on the particular issue. Therefore, by definition since they are speaking for God anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong. And the next step is: Those who disagree with them are inherently inferior, and in extreme cases -- as is the case with some fundamentalists around the world -- it makes your opponents sub-humans, so that their lives are not significant. Another thing is that a fundamentalist can't bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality. And so this administration, for instance, has a policy of just refusing to talk to someone who is in strong disagreement with them -- which is also a radical departure from past history. So these are the kinds of things that cause me concern. And, of course, fundamentalists don't believe they can make mistakes, so when we permit the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, it's just impossible for a fundamentalist to admit that a mistake was made."

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,431793,00.html

[corkhead]

1. he describes * to a T doesn't he

[NC_Nurse]

2. Excellent article.

Thanks for posting it!

[lonestarnot]

3. Yes!

[converted_democrat]

4. K&R- I love Jimmy Carter.. I just wish he was young enough to run

again..

[waiting for hope]

5. Perhaps Jack will be

able to make an impact....the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[madrchsod]

6. jimmy still teaches sunday school

that`s what he does on sunday morning......

[The Deacon]

11. My Wife Keeps Planning For Us

To attend one of these Sundays when he is teaching. Can you imagine one of the Bush Clan allowing "outsiders" (we're Unity Church, not Baptists) to attend one of their religious services - for the purpose of discussing your differing views on certain Bible verses?
So far haven't made it - President Carter's church is about an hour west of us & early Sunday mornings my wife just hates to wake my son & me.

[Peace Patriot]

7. Fanatical religious nuts have always been with us. It's when they are

promoted by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies into SEEMING TO BE a majority, and are permitted to poison our political debate, and are Diebolded into the White House and into Congress, that they become dangerous, as they are now. Very dangerous. We might as well have the Inquisition in charge of our government. You think that's too extreme? Let me tell you WHO "counted' our votes in 2004, using TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls:

DIEBOLD: Until recently, headed by Wally O'Dell, a Bush-Cheney campaign chair and major fundraiser (a Bush "Pioneer," right up there with Ken Lay), who promised in writing to "deliver Ohio's electoral votes to Bush-Cheney in 2004"; and

ES&S: A spinoff of Diebold (similar computer architecture), initially funded by rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave one million dollars to the extremist 'christian' Chalcedon Foundation, which touts the death penalty for homosexuals (among other things). Diebold and ES&S have an incestuous relationship; they are run by two brothers, Bob and Todd Urosevich.

These are the people who "counted" 80% of the nation's votes in 2004, under a veil of corporate secrecy. And it is NO SURPRISE that WHAT it endorsed was a regime that tortures 15 years old boys and slaughters over a hundred thousand innocent people without a thought--when 63% of Americans oppose torture "under any circumstances"--UNDER *ANY* CIRCUMSTANCES! (May '04), and nearly 60% opposed Bush's preemptive war on Iraq way back before the invasion (Feb. '03--a stat I will never forget).

Jimmy Carter thinks that a democratic corrective mechanism is at work--the same sort of democratic phenomenon that brought us out of the age of slavery, out of racist segregation a hundred years later, and past the 'communist under every bed' inquisitional McCarthy era.

But he doesn't mention Diebold and ES&S and their "trade secret" programming--the fascist mechanism of PREVENTING change and a course correction. Carter of all people should know what this means. It has been his foundation--the Carter Center--that has helped numerous countries around the world establish TRANSPARENT elections.

The article is well worth reading. Carter is like the moral center of our American universe--which the Bushites have yanked way over into another galaxy, where we hardly recognize ourselves. Reading him, you think: "Yeah, THAT'S America!" But I was disappointed that he doesn't mention this EGREGIOUS, direct assault on the integrity of our voting system, and its highly suspicious results.

[warrens]

8. Man, that NAILS it

Arrogant, insufferable, block-headed, superstitious, ignorant AND PROUD OF IT. That's our Bushies.

[Cathyclysmic]

To boot- Carter is an evangelical Christian.

But he truly walks the walk. Jimmy Carter is class with a capital c.

[Brazenly Liberal]

38. Carter is a *REAL* Christian

as opposed to the Christianists who are making the big power grab.

Jimmy Carter finds in his faith comfort and inspiration and the responsibility to do his best to conduct himself as he believes Christ would have. You don't have to believe Jesus Christ was God to see that this spiritual view is a blueprint for being a good, decent human being. In essence, it's the Golden Rule on steroids. Love your neighbor, care for your neighbor, forgive your neighbor. Treat people well, take care of each other, give most to those who have the least.

The Christianist fundies, for all their intense - and sometimes bizarre - focus on Jesus Christ, have actually gone back to the Old Testament view of God as the Great Punisher. Worse, they often act as though this Punishing Vindictive God is like some sort of trained pitbull - there to be summoned up at will to smite their enemies over offenses large, small, or imagined.

[Peace Patriot]

9. I want to argue with the inflammatory title of this OP. I think it's very

important, given the divisions among us here at DU, to quote people exactly. A word like "condemns" immediately pushes the buttons of people who support Israel who are reacting, for instance, to Arab or Muslim statements threatening Israel's existence, and who are extremely worried about Israel's survival (--as well we should be, with Israel having the despised Bush junta as its only ally). Carter has some very specific criticisms of Israel, re: Lebanon, but he says nothing threatening about Israel--for instance, that the U.S. should not support its existence and defense--and he puts much of the blame for the continuing conflict in the Middle East on the Bushites for their militarism and failure to use diplomacy. Here is what Carter said, as quoted in Der Spiegel:

"SPIEGEL: You also mentioned the hatred for the United States throughout the Arab world which has ensued as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Given this circumstance, does it come as any surprise that Washington's call for democracy in the Middle East has been discredited?

"Carter: No, as a matter of fact, the concerns I exposed have gotten even worse now with the United States supporting and encouraging Israel in its unjustified attack on Lebanon.

"SPIEGEL: But wasn't Israel the first to get attacked?

"Carter: I don't think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon. What happened is that Israel is holding almost 10,000 prisoners, so when the militants in Lebanon or in Gaza take one or two soldiers, Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza. I do not think that's justified, no.

"SPIEGEL: Do you think the United States is still an important factor in securing a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis?

"Carter: Yes, as a matter of fact as you know ever since Israel has been a nation the United States has provided the leadership. Every president down to the ages has done this in a fairly balanced way, including George Bush senior, Gerald Ford, and others including myself and Bill Clinton. This administration has not attempted at all in the last six years to negotiate or attempt to negotiate a settlement between Israel and any of its neighbors or the Palestinians.

"SPIEGEL: What makes you personally so optimistic about the effectiveness of diplomacy? You are, so to speak, the father of Camp David negotiations.

"Carter: When I became president we had had four terrible wars between the Arabs and Israelis (behind us). And I under great difficulty, particularly because Menachim Begin was elected, decided to try negotiation and it worked and we have a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt for 27 years that has never been violated. You never can be certain in advance that negotiations on difficult circumstances will be successful, but you can be certain in advance if you don't negotiate that your problem is going to continue and maybe even get worse."


--------------------------

Carter doesn't use words like "condemn." He says nothing against Israel's right to defend herself. He doesn't call for the end of U.S. aid, or boycotts. He merely gives his own experienced and ethical view of the current situtation, and suggests a U.S. commitment to diplomacy as the solution. I know that the word "condems" is an easy--too easy!--way to sum up his remarks for subject line purposes. But it would have been less inflammatory--and more accurate--to say, "Carter criticizes Israel, etc.," than that "Carter condemns...".

[Peace Patriot]

10. NOTE: The Der Spiegel title is "The US and Israel Stand Alone." It is NOT

"Jimmy Carter Condemns Bush, Israel, and the Religious Right Nutballs."

[Dystopian]

35. oh my.....

:rofl:

[Martin Eden]

12. Jimmy, like us here at DU,

is very distressed at the direction our country has taken these last 6 years.

[faithnotgreed]

13. kicking for jimmy - a thoroughly decent and honest man

[Rex]

14. Carter knows more about Christianity than all the fundies combined.

So true, GOPers look at us as sub-humans or inferior people. Fascist dickheads IMO.

[hyphenate]

15. Dear President Carter!

A true insightful presence in a world gone mad. His description of fundies hits the spot. I'm emailing that passage to my ex fundie friend. I doubt if it will do anything other than piss her off, but I might get some satisfaction from doing it regardless.

[Freeusfromthechurch]

22. I printed out 10 copies to send to my family

[flpoljunkie]

16. Thanks for post. If you can, support his son in Nevada in his Senate race.

SPIEGEL: Does America need a regime change?

Carter: As I've said before, there is a self-corrective aspect to our country. And I think that the first step is going to be in the November election this year. This year, the Democrats have good chance of capturing one of the houses of Congress. I think the Senate is going to be a very close decision. My oldest son is running for the US Senate in the state of Nevada. And if just he and a few others can be successful then you have the US Senate in Democratic hands and that will make a profound and immediate difference.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Carter, thank you for the interview.

Here is a link to Jack Carter's website: http://www.carterfornevada.com/

I sent Jack Carter a small contribution last winter, and he sent me a hand written thank you post card, which is really extraordinary in politics. He seems to be a good and decent man like his dad, and he just won the Democratic primary in Nevada this week.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/16/nevada.primary.ap/index.html

Carter's son wins Nevada Senate primary

Wednesday, August 16, 2006; Posted: 10:01 a.m. EDT (14:01 GMT)

Nevada Democrat Jack Carter charges that GOP Sen. John Ensign is too cozy with President Bush.

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- Nevada voters picked a former first son to take on an incumbent Republican U.S. senator, set up an intriguing governor's race and delivered a razor-thin victory to a GOP candidate hoping to fill the state's only open U.S. House seat.

Democrat Jack Carter, son of former President Carter, on Tuesday easily advanced to a November general election race against incumbent U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada.

Carter said Ensign has been too cozy with the White House. "You know, he's voted for the Bush administration 96 percent of the time," Carter said.

Five-time U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons won the state's GOP gubernatorial nomination, and state Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus won a raucous Democratic contest with 54 percent of the vote to Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson's 36 percent.

[zero_blue]

17. fundamentalist worldview is too tightly bound to their religion

if they choose to doubt their pastor when he says to support bush, that could cast doubt on things the pastor previously said, and if they do that their entire world view is shaken.

[malaise]

18. Great read

Thanks. Go Jimmy Go!

[Uncle Joe]

19. Jimmy Carter Rocks!

:yourock: He is a true patriot:patriot: who actually cares about the people of other nations:grouphug: The gulf between his integrity and the pseudo leaders in power now is just mind boggling.

Thanks for posting mir

K & R

:kick:

[brer cat]

26. If I might add to "integrity" also honesty, knowledge,

and compassion. The gulf between JC and * is greater than the distance from earth to sun.

K&R

[Xenotime]

20. Carter was one of the first great leaders of the modern world.

It seems he still has the touch.

[Freeusfromthechurch]

21. What a man

He is by far the most amazing, kindness, caring, loving former President we ever had. It shows in his actions the type of man he is, not by faith alone. If the right wing could only see that a man like him is closer to be a Christian than they will ever be.

[RebelOne]

23. Sean Insannity was raving on his radio show about Carter

undermining his dear, precious president and Israel.

[lvx35]

24. Fundamentalists think they are God.

That is the heart of it, right there. Well said. Other people of faith recognize themselves as fallible, and God as perfect though mysterious, but fundamentalists worship their own asses.

[Freeusfromthechurch]

25. Sad but true

[greiner3]

27. Dang, I've said those words myself;

But never with such conviction. Sorry I voted for Anderson all those many years ago.

[autorank]

28. Amen n/t

[L0oniX]

29. My buddy

What a great man he is.

[MrPrax]

30. I remember an American professor...

saying something during a class about Carter/Reagan and Christianity in America, just after Reagan got elected ...

He said something to the effect: the difference is that Carter would ask, 'would God approve of my actions', whereas Reagan already knows God would approve.

Carter and his wonderful wife retired and built homes for poor people...

How can you not admire the man?

[UrbScotty]

31. This coming form a NOBEL LAUREATE, mind you (nt)

[grannylib]

32. The most truly decent, honorable man ever to have served in the WH

and he gets SLAMMED by the whorish thieves currently in power there, and their soulless supporters.
Hell, compared to Chimpy the Unelected Imbecile, even RayGuns looked like Einstein...there is NO comparison to Carter that can be made. Chimpy's not even fuckin' human.

[IndianaGreen]

33. Carter worked his ass off to get the Camp David Accord

while Bush slept his ass off while the Middle East burned.

[Dystopian]

34. Great man, Jimmy Carter k/r n/t

[Kurovski]

36. K&R.

Thank God for President Jimmy Carter.

[Vidar]

37. Applauding Jimmy.